Meet Joe McKeown, who rebuilds programs by day and is the glue of his family by night
By Tony Garcia Medill Reports A casserole breakfast with assorted fruit on each of their laps, Joe McKeown, his wife Laura, and his daughters Meghan and Ally gathered around the television. Laura poured over the handful of spreadsheets she’d created, breaking down every possible scenario as they watched the final Big Ten game of the […]
Church service: A look at the court that launched Anthony Davis’ hoop dreams
By Tony Garcia Medill Reports Anthony Davis’ basketball career began in a florescent blue gym, on the third floor of the all-stone, Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood. The church, a Gothic age creation that was rebuilt after the fire of 1900, boasts nine Tiffany windows and was named a Chicago Landmark in […]
Never far From Flint, Miles Bridges wins Rising Stars MVP
By Tony Garcia Medill Reports The United Center is a long way from 411 East 3rd street, Flint, Michigan, a YMCA with an odor of toughness as strong as the determination of the city in which it resides. Two hundred, seventy four and two-tenths miles away to be specific. But on Friday night, when the […]
Ten-thousand miles and two knee surgeries later, Jess Sancataldo continues to chase her dreams
By Tony Garcia Medill Reports Jess Sancataldo has long had lofty aspirations. Whether it was playing four sports at a time when she was a child or joining the Australian National team for Handball in high school, Sancataldo has always pushed herself. In eighth grade, she made the decision she wanted to play collegiate basketball […]